Royal Musings was on a hiatus as I was in England from May 13-May 21st.
Lots of sunshine, warm weather for the entire 8 days .... and getting a half dozen emergency weather alerts from home due to bad weather here in Northern Virginia.
I flew United on May 13, taking the 9 a.m., flight from Dulles to Heathrow. Much to my surprise, there were no babies, kids or teenagers on this flight. I arrived in London at 8:30 p.m. My luggage arrived quickly. I took the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then a taxi to my hotel, the Grand Royale London Hyde Park, off Bayswater Road and within walking distance to the Queensway and Bayswater tube stations.
The hotel was once the home of Lily Langtry.
https://www.grandroyalelondon.co.uk
After checking in, I headed to Queensway to find a place to eat. Too late for the pubs, but settled on an Italian restaurant, then it was back to the hotel to go to bed. Amazingly, I fell asleep and slept through the night ... and woke up at 8 (wake up call) the next morning. No jet lag at all.
May 14
A complete, full day of activities. Kensington Palace to see the changes in the Victoria exhibit including the Fife tiara. I tried it on .. well. sort of.
Dinner at Oblix West in the Shard and then a walk back across London Bridge ... not falling down.
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| Queen Victoria's emerald tiara on loan from the Duke of Fife |
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| the Fife tiara was given to the nation in lieu of taxes |
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| Fife fringe tiara on loan for two years by the Duke of Fife |
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| I loved trying on the Fife tiara |
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| The Diana, Princess of Wales dress exhibit |
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| Sunken Gardens |
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| Apartment 1A |
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| Fortnum & Mason for tea |
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| All gone |
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| St. James's Palace |
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| American press center across from Buckingham Palace. People Magazine's Simon Perry. |
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| Natalie Morales Access Hollywood |
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| Access Hollywood Could be Keir Simmons |
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| If you were looking for Jesus last Monday, he was hanging out at Oxford Circus |
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| The Shard |
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| I had dinner at Oblix West in the Shard, Great view |
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| London Bridge |
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| The Tower from London Bridge |
Day two: Sandringham
thank you, Marlene, for sharing your pictures. Makes my London withdrawal pains even worse.
ReplyDeleteWish I could have been there too.
Green with envy 😊 looks like a great time! Love all the photos! Thanks for sharing the journey with us Marlene!
ReplyDeleteDelightful photos, thank you!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I was at Kensington Palace in February. Saw Diana dresses, but no tiaras on display then. Also went to Hampton Court again for the first time in 10 years, and it is still my favorite palace. I escorted a group of schoolkids to Windsor last year. They weren't so interested, but a few wrote me after the wedding to ask if the royal wedding was in the church I had taken them to. They were impressed when I said that it was.
ReplyDeleteI've been to England about 15 times, and have only had bad weather once. I'm glad that you had the sun as well.
The Emerald and the Fringe tiaras are on loan for 2 years. The Fife tiara may be permanent.
ReplyDeleteThe dinner plates look fabulous. Scallops?
ReplyDeletecrab cakes
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